organic agriculture in the prairies - ota · organic agriculture in the prairies in 2015, there...

ORGANICAGRICULTURE IN

THE PRAIRIES2015 STATISTICS

Report by the Canada Organic Trade Association

Authored by Jill Guerra

June 2017

TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary.......................................................................................................................2

OrganicOperationsinthePrairies................................................................................................4

PrimaryProducers......................................................................................................................4

ProcessorsandHandlers............................................................................................................5

OrganicAcreageinthePrairies.....................................................................................................7

FieldCrops..................................................................................................................................9

Cereals..................................................................................................................................10

Pulses....................................................................................................................................12

Oilseeds.................................................................................................................................13

FruitsandVegetables...............................................................................................................14

PastureandForage...................................................................................................................14

OtherAcreage...........................................................................................................................15

OrganicAgricultureinAlberta....................................................................................................16

OrganicAgricultureinSaskatchewan.........................................................................................18

OrganicAgricultureinManitoba.................................................................................................20

2

ExecutiveSummary

OrganicAgricultureinthePrairiesIn 2015, there were an estimated 1,499 certified organic operations in the Prairies, with over 60

operationsundergoingtransitiontoorganiccertification.Prairieoperationsaccountfornearly30%of

all organic operations across Canada, signifying the importance of the region in Canada’s organic

sector. The Prairies have significant production of organic grains and pulses, aswell as large areas

devotedtoorganicpastureandforagecrops.

QuickFacts

§ There are more certified organic operations in the Prairies than ever before, with 1,499

operationsacrossthePrairies.

§ Nearly30%ofCanadiancertifiedorganicoperationsandone-thirdoforganicproducersarein

thePrairies.

§ ThePrairiesarehometohalfofCanada’sorganicland,totalingto1.4millionacres.

§ Cereals (35%),andPasture&Foragecrops (46%)arethe largestsegmentsofPrairieorganic

lands.

§ 94%ofallorganicpulseacreageinCanadaisinthePrairies.

§ The number of organic processors has declined across Canada (-2.8%), including across the

Prairieprovinces.

PurposeThis is the second year that there has been a Prairie

organic report, responding to the demand for organic

sector information specific to the Prairie provinces.

Providing data and analysis allows for businesses to

proactivelyplan,takeadvantagesofopportunitiesaswell

asplan for supply changes.Havingaccess tobetterdata

supports policy and programming initiatives that aim to

develop, improve and grow the organic sector.

Additionally,itcanhelpinformtheallocationofresources

suchasfundingortechnicalassistancetoensurethatthe

supportisdistributedtothemostappropriateareasofthesector.

Whether the information is used for educational programs, supporting policy and programming

effortsorgeneralinterest,thisreportisausefulresourcefortheorganicsectorinthePrairies.Data

fromthisreportisusedbythePrairieOrganicGrainInitiativeandtheprovincialorganicassociations.

3

Asaresultofthisdatacollectionandanalysis,theprairieorganicsectorisbenefittinginthefollowing

ways:

§ Programming: Being a resilient and vibrant sector means being pro-active rather than

reactive.Knowinghowmanyfarmersare intransitionallowsprovincialassociationstoknow

wherethesectormaybeheadingandadjustprogramsaccordingly.

§ Businessplanning:Whenprovincialassociationscommunicate trends to theirmembers, the

data allows businesses in the organic sector to plan, take advantage of opportunities and

prepareforfuturechallenges.

§ Policywork:Thisreportsupportsengagementwiththegovernmentandpolicyasksthatrely

on an understanding of the current trends and opportunities within the organic sector.

Further,robuststatisticsshowthattheorganicsectorisawell-organized,professionalsectorthatshouldbeproperlysupported.

Datasource

This report isbasedondatacollectedandanalyzedannuallyby theCanadaOrganicTrade

Association (COTA). Organic certification bodies across Canada and the U.S. voluntarily

supply theoperationandacreagedata toCOTA.TheCanadianOrganicGrowerspreviously

compiledthedatawithCOTAtakingoverthedatacollectionresponsibilityin2013.

Reportnotes:

§ Incertaincases,percentagesbelow5%areexcludedfromchartsforvisualclarity.

§ Because only whole numbers are presented for the acreage data, roundingmay cause the

‘total’columnsnottoequaltheexactsumoftheindividualcolumns.

§ Acreagereferstolandareameasuredinacres.

COTAwouldliketosincerelythankallorganiccertificationbodiesandassociationsthat

providedthedatausedinthisanalysis.Theirvoluntaryparticipationplaysavaluablerolein

understandingandsupportingtheorganicsectorinthePrairiesandacrossCanada.

Abigthankyouto:CCOF

CCPBSRL

CentreforSystemsIntegration(CSI)

CertifiedOrganicAssociationofBC(COABC)

Ecocert

GlobalOrganicAlliance(GOA)

InternationalCertificationServicesInc.(ISC)

ManitobaOrganicAlliance

OregonTilth

OrganicAlberta

OrganicCropImprovementAssociation(OCIA)

OrganicProducersAssociationofManitoba(OPAM)

PacificAgriculturalCertificationService(PACS)

ProCertOrganic

QAI

SaskOrganics

TransCanadaOrganic(TCO)Cert

4

OrganicOperationsinthePrairies

In 2015, there were a total of 1,499 certified organic operations across the Prairie provinces,

representingnearly30%ofallCanadianoperations.MostofthePrairie’scertifiedoperationsare in

Saskatchewan(59%),followedbyAlberta(29%)andManitoba(12%).

Table1|OverviewofOrganicOperationsinthePrairies,2015

CertifiedPrimaryProducers

CertifiedLivestockOperations

CertifiedProcessors/Handlers

TotalCertifiedOrganic

Operations*In-transitionProducers**

Alberta 380 55 57 439 33

Saskatchewan 824 31 56 883 27

Manitoba 138 32 47 177 4

PrairieTotal 1,342 118 160 1,499 64* Note that total certified organic operations is not a sum of the other preceding columns as some operations fall into multiple

operationtypes(e.g.livestockandfieldcropproducers)

**Totalcertifiedorganicoperationsdoesnotinclude‘in-transitionproducers’

PrimaryProducers

Thenumberof certifiedorganic operations inCanadahas surpassed thepreviouspeakof 3,914 in

2009, reaching4,045producers in2015.Thenumberofprimaryproducers in thePrairieshasbeen

climbingsince2012,buthasnotyetexceeded1,610recordedin2009.Thissuggeststhatthegrowth

inthenumberoforganicproducersinthePrairiesisnotadvancingatthesamerateasotherregions

ofthecountry,confirmedbythedeclineinPrairietotalasapercentageoftheCanadiantotal.

Table2|PrimaryProducersofOrganicsinthePrairies,2009-2015 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

PrairieTotal 1,610 1,371 1,339 1,229 1,151 1,281 1,342

CanadianTotal 3,914 3,732 3,694 3,590 3,513 3,780 4,045

%ofCdnTotal 41.13% 36.74% 36.25% 34.23% 32.76% 33.89% 33.18%

The distribution of producers across the Prairie provinces has remained stable over the years.

However,in2015,Albertahadanotableincreaseinproducersrelativetotheotherprovinceswith75

additionalproducerscomparedwith2014.Manitobaadded4newproducerswhileSaskatchewan’s

totalproducersdeclined.ThisrepresentsashifttoaslightlyhigherproportionofproducersinAlberta

comparedtotheotherPrairieprovinces.

5

319

275

291

266

263

305

380

1123

938

914

832

764

842

824

168

158

134

131

124

134

138

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Figure1|NumberofCertifiedPrimaryProducersinthePrairies2009-2015

Source:CanadianOrganicGrowers;CanadaOrganicTradeAssociation

ProcessorsandHandlers

Organic processors and handlers refer to a spectrumof organic operations, includingmillers, seed

cleaners, abattoirs, brokers/buyers, truckers, baggers and packagers. According to COTA data, the

numberofprocessorsandhandlersdeclinedslightly in2015,nationally.Thistrendalsoappearedin

thePrairieswithalossof65processorsbetween2014and2015.Thedeclinewasmostprominentin

Saskatchewan, but all provinces similarly showed declines. It is possible that this decline may be

attributedtooperationswhoswitchedCertificationBodiesduringthedatacollectionperiodandwere

thusmissedwithin the analysis. Because of this possibility, the results from the 2016 datawill be

monitoredtoseewhetherthedeclineisadatacollectionissueoranactualtrend.

Table3|NumberofOrganicProcessorsandHandlers*inthePrairies,2009-2015 2009 2010 2011** 2012 2013 2014 2015

PrairieTotal 205 186 n/a 171 181 225 160CdnTotal 1,195 1,115 993 1,237 1,446 1,581 1,538%ofCdnTotal 17.15% 16.68% n/a 13.82% 12.52% 14.23% 10.40%

*Thistableandsubsequentgraphpertaintoprocessorsacrossthewholespectrumoforganics,includingmillers,seedcleaners,

abattoirs,broker/buyers,truckers,baggers,andpackagers.

**NodatafororganicprocessorsandhandlersoperatinginthePrairiesfor2011wasfound.

6

Figure2|NumberofOrganicProcessorsandHandlersinthePrairies,2009-2015


*NodatafororganicprocessorsandhandlersoperatinginthePrairiesfor2011isavailable.

Table4|BreakdownofCertifiedOrganicOperations,2014-2015

TotalCertifiedCrop/LivestockOperations

TotalCertifiedProcessorsTotalInvolvedinboth

ProcessingandProducing

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Alberta 311 380 80 57 21 10Saskatchewan 843 824 89 56 8 7Manitoba 134 138 54 47 10 9

Alongwiththedeclineinprocessors,therewasaslightdecreaseinthoseoperationsinvolvedinboth

processingandproducing.Thisdeclinewasmostprominent inAlberta,whereasSaskatchewanand

Manitobaonlyreportedonelessthan2014.

70

74

76

73

82

57

96

75

67

64

89

56

39

37

28

44

54

47

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

7

Figure3|OverviewofOperationTypes,2014-2015

Producers Processors Producer&Processor

Source:CanadaOrganicTradeAssociation

OrganicAcreageinthePrairies

Prairieorganicacreagereached1.41millionin2015,accountingforhalfofCanada’scertifiedorganic

acreage. Since 2009, acreage in this region has remained stablewith a slight peak in 2013of 1.44

millionacres.TotalacreageinthePrairieshasdecreasedslightlysince2014.Thegreatestdeclinewas

inthepastureandforagecategories,whilefruitandvegetableacreagemorethanquadrupledwithan

additionof9,000acres.

Table5|OrganicAcreageinthePrairies,2009-2015 2009 2010* 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

PrairieTotal 1,424,892 1,323,351 1,366,000 1,230,824 1,440,382 1,419,568 1,410,435

CdnTotal 1,738,825 1,738,825 2,078,688 2,060,568 2,147,934 2,357,197 2,433,602

%ofCdnTotal 82% 76% 66% 60% 67% 60% 58%*Estimatesofacreagewererequiredfor2010,asacreagefromonlyafractionofproducerswasrecorded.Also,aCanadiantotalwas

alsonotreportedfor2010

305

842

134

380

824

138

AB SK MB

2014

2015

80

89

54

57

56

47

AB SK MB

21

8 10

10

7 9

AB SK MB

8

Figure4|OrganicAcreageinthePrairiesbyProvinceandasaPortionoftheCanadianTotal,2009-2015


*Estimatesofacreagewererequiredfor2010,asacreagefromonlyafractionofproducerswasrecorded.Also,aCanadian

totalwasalsonotreportedfor2010.

The totalorganic landbase remains largelyunchangedin thePrairies; therehasbeena lossof less

than1%oflandsince2014,alongwitha5%increaseinthenumberofproducers.Saskatchewanand

Manitoba had reported increases in acreage between 2014 and 2015,while Alberta’s organic land

basedecreased.

Saskatchewanhas themost certified organic acreagewith over 25,000 acres addedbetween 2014

and2015.Manitobaacreagegrewslightly.AlthoughoverallAlbertasawalossofabout15,000acres,

thisisprimarilyduetoa40,000+acrelossinthegrassandnaturalareascategory.Thislossisoffsetby

a3-foldincreaseinvegetableacreageanda17%increaseinfieldcropacreage.

Nearly half of the Prairie organic landscape is used for field crops, themajority being cereals like

wheatandoats.Pastureandforageoccupyaboutathirdofthelandscapefollowedbynon-fieldcrops

such as greenmanures and fallow land. The largest sub-category of organic land use in Alberta is

pasture,whileinbothSaskatchewanandManitobaitiscereals.

334 294 326 364 361 462 426

987920

940781 1,023

873893

104

109

100

86

5784 92

83%

77%

81%

61%

62%60%

58%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

2009 2010* 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Thousands

Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba %ofCanadianTotal

9

Table6|CertifiedOrganicAcresbyCategory,2015

LandUseCategory AB SK MB PrairieTotal

FieldCrops Cereals(Barley,buckwheat,kamut,mixedgrain,oats,rye,wheat,othercereals)

113,500 361,884 24,989 500,373

Pulses(Beans,legumes,lentils,peas,otherpulses)

17,599 68,159 2,780 88,538

Oilseeds(Canola,flax,hemp,mustard,soybeans,

otheroilseeds)

6,733 60,522 6,791 74,047

OtherFieldCrops(Fieldcrops(nodetails),otherfieldcrops)

109 1,477 10 1,596

Pasture&Forage

Pasture(Pastureandmeadows)

172,964 88,317 17,417 278,699

Forage(Alfalfaandalfalfamixtures,other

foragecrops)

73,957 126,196 21,303 221,456

Fruits&Vegetables 6,356 4,454 833 11,643Other Non-FieldCrops

(Fallowland,greenmanures,manures,

wildcrafting,wildriceandbush)

28,010 159,088 15,150 202,248

Grass&NaturalAreas(Grass,grassland,naturalareas,ecologicalareas)

6,427 23,062 2,344 31,833

TOTAL 425,656 893,161 91,618 1,410,435*Subcategories-inbrackets-areonlybrokenoutwithinthereportforcereals,pulsesandoilseeds.

FieldCrops

Cereals are the largest subcategory of field crops in the Prairies (75%) and are mostly located in

Saskatchewan (72%). Manitoba has the lowest total field crop acreage but a relatively greater

proportionoforganicland(20%)dedicatedtooilseedscomparedtoAlberta(<5%)andSaskatchewan

(<2%).

10

Figure5|FieldCropAcreageBreakdowninthePrairies,2015


Figure6|FieldCropAcreageBreakdowninthePrairies,2015


The following three sections provide greater details on the sub-categories of field crops: cereals,

pulsesandoilseeds.

Cereals

WheatisthelargestcategoryoforganiccerealsacrossthePrairies,accountingfor46%ofallorganic

cerealacreage.Wheatacreageexpandedbyabout20,000acresbetween2014and2015.Similarly,

oat acreage also increased by 20,000 acres and remains at approximately 30% of organic cereal

acreageintheregion.Manyoftheothercategories(e.g.,barley,buckwheat,kamutandmixedgrain)

declinedslightlybetween2014and2015.

0

100

200

300

400

500

Cereals Pulses Oilseeds OtherFieldCrops

Thousands

AB

SK

MB

PrairieTotal

82%

74%

72%

13%

14%

8%

5%

12%

20%

AB

SK

MB

Cereals Pulses Oilseeds OtherFieldCrops

11

Table7|AcreageDevotedtoCereals,2015

AB SK MB PrairieTotalBarley 18,415 33,218 2,582 54,215Buckwheat 63 567 319 949Kamut 1,760 27,698 - 29,458MixedGrain 735 100 1,739 2,574Oats 46,014 102,301 5,129 153,444Rye 2,032 17,239 3,509 22,780Wheat 43,712 174,633 11,029 229,374

OtherCereals 769 6,128 682 7,579

TOTAL 113,500 361,884 24,989 500,373

Figure7|PulseAcreage,2015


*Duetospace,‘Other’includesBuckwheat,MixedGrains,Cereals(nodetails)andOtherCerealsfromTable7above.

16%

9%

10%

8%

41%

28%

21%

5%

14%

39%

48%

44% 11%

AB

SK

MB

Barley Kamut Oats Rye Wheat Other

Figure6|CerealAcreage,2015


0

50

100

150

200

Barley Buckwheat Kamut MixedGrain Oats Rye Wheat OtherCereals

Thousands

AB

SK

MB

PrairieTotal

12

Pulses

Nearly all (94%) certified organic pulses are produced in the Prairies. Of the Prairie organic pulse

acreage,77% is inSaskatchewan.Organic fieldpeas (i.e.not freshpeas)occupyhalfof theorganic

pulseareasinthePrairies.In2015,organicpulseacreageexpandedbyapproximately13,000acres–

mostlyinSaskatchewan.

Table8|AcreageDevotedtoPulses,2015

AB SK MB PrairieTotal

Beans 458 191 387 1,036Lentils 974 27,437 650 29,061

Peas 14,782 27,796 1,306 43,885

OtherPulsesandProteinCrops 1385 12,735 437 14,557TOTAL 17,599 68,159 2,780 88,538

Figure8|PulseAcreage,2015


-

10

20

30

40

50

Beans Lentils Peas OtherPulsesandProtein

Crops

Thousands

AB

SK

MB

PrairieTotal

13

Figure9|ProportionalPulseAcreage,2015


Oilseeds

Saskatchewangrows82%of thePrairies’organicoilseedacreage.Three-quartersoforganicoilseed

acreageinthePrairiesisforflaxseed.ThisisduemainlytothelargerareasinSaskatchewandedicated

toflaxproduction.AlthoughSaskatchewanandAlbertahavesimilaracreagedevotedtohemp,hemp

productionisamuchgreaterproportionofAlberta’sorganicoilseedacreage(36%).

14%

6%

40%

23%

84%

41%

47%

8%

19%

16%

AB

SK

MB

Beans Lentils Peas OtherPulsesandProteinCrops

Table9|AcreageDevotedtoOilseedsin,2015 AB SK MB PrairieTotalCanola 220 20 - 240

Flax 3,429 48,508 3,249 55,187Hemp 2,428 2,285 267 4,980Mustard 160 8,386 1,473 10,019Soybeans - 1,065 1,339 2,404OtherOilseeds 496 258 463 1,217

TOTAL 6,733 60,522 6,791 74,047

14

Figure10|OilseedAcreage,2015


Figure11|ProportionalOilseedAcreage,2015


FruitsandVegetables

Vegetable acreage in the Prairies is nearly three times higher than

2014,increasingfrom4,771toover11,000.Vegetablesremainasmall

portionoforganicacreage intheprairiesbutthissubstantial increase

deserves attention in subsequent data analyses to see whether the

trendcontinues.

Fruitscontinuetobeaverymarginalareaoforganiclands,likelydueto

climaticbarriers.

-

10

20

30

40

50

60

Canola Flax Hemp Mustard Soybeans OtherOilseeds

Thousands

AB

SK

MB

PrairieTotal

3% 51%

80%

48%

36%

4%

4%

14%

22% 20%

7%

7%

AB

SK

MB

Canola Flax Hemp Mustard Soybeans OtherOilseeds

15

PastureandForage

Pasture and forage acreage is nearly split between Alberta and Saskatchewan, with a smaller

proportion(about40,000acres)inManitoba.

Asa resultof the format thatCOTAreceivesdata, thereare likelysome inconsistencies in thedata

year-to-year, particularly in the pasture and forage, and other non-field crop categories. This is

because some certification body data uses broader categories that encompassmultiple categories

reportedhere,andthusrequirere-categorizationwhenaggregatingthedata.

OtherNon-FieldCropAcreage

Otheracreageincludesbothnon-fieldcropsandgrassandnaturalareas.Therearedifficultiesinyear-

to-yearconsistencywiththeothernon-fieldcropacreageasmanyofthesecategoriesarechallenging

todelineate,andduetothenatureoffarming(e.g.,croprotation)landusecanchangeoften.

Oneexampleofthisissueistryingtocategorizegreenmanures.Iffarmersplantfieldcropsandgreen

manuresinthesamefield(intercropping)itmayonlybereportedasfieldcropacreagedespitehaving

greenmanuresaswell.Additionally,occasionallyafieldwasintendedforfieldcrops,butapooryield

ledafarmertoplowitunder(i.e.greenmanure)instead.Thesenuancesrevealoneofthedifficulties

withquantifyingorganicacreages.

Table10|FruitandVegetableAcreage,2015

AB SK MB PrairieTotalFruit&Vegetables 6,356 4,454 833 11,643

Table11|PastureandForageAcreageinthePrairies,2015

AB SK MB PrairieTotalPasture&Meadows

Pasture 127,176 86,541 16,691 230,409Meadows 45,788 1,776 726 48,290

Forage

Alfalfaandalfalfa

mixtures 21,634 33,520 8,745 63,899Otherforagecrops

(hay,clover&others) 52,323 92,676 12,559 157,557TOTAL 246,922 214,513 38,720 500,155

16

With these issues inmind, according to the categories defined by COTA, non-field crop acreage is

mostlywithin Saskatchewan (71%)and ispredominantly fallow land.Grassandnatural areasarea

smallportionoftheothernon-fieldcropacreage(16%),butareagainconcentratedinSaskatchewan

(72%).

Table12|OtherNon-FieldCropAcreageinthePrairies,2015

AB SK MB PrairieTotalNon-FieldCrops(fallowland,greenmanures,manures,wildcrafting,wildriceandbush)

28,011 159,088 15,150 202,248

Grass&NaturalAreas(grass,grassland,naturalareas,ecologicalareas)

6,427 23,062 2,344 31,833

TOTAL 34,438 182,150 17,494 234,082

17

OrganicAgricultureinAlberta

Albertashoweda20%increaseoftotalorganicoperatorsbetween2014and2015,bringingthetotal

to439.Whilethenumberoflivestockoperatorsandprocessors/handlersdeclinedslightly,therewas

significantgrowthinfieldcropproducers.

Overall,Albertahadaslightdeclineinorganicacreage,reporting425,656acresin2015.Thiswasdue

toalossofover40,000acresinthegrassandnaturalareascategory.Thisalignswiththedeclinein

livestockoperations,whereadecreaseinafewoperationsmayresultinthelossoflargeexpansesof

grasslandsandpastureareas.Onapositivenote,fieldcropacreageincreasedbynearly20,000likely

relatedtothe increase innumberofproducers.Mostofthis increasewas intheMackenzieCounty

regionofAlberta,wheretherearemanyproducerstransitioningintoorganicgrainproduction.Fruit

andvegetableacreagealsoincreasedandissignificantlyhigherthan2014.

Table13|OverviewofCertifiedOrganicOperationsinAlberta,2014-2015

PrimaryProducers LivestockOperations Processors/HandlersTotalOrganic

Operations

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Alberta 305 380 64 55 80 57 365 439

PrairieTotal 1,288 1,342 128 118 223 160 1,466 1,499

*Totalorganicoperationsisnotasumoftheotherprecedingcolumnsassomeoperationsfallintomultipleoperationtypes

Figure12|OrganicOperationsinAlberta,2014-2015


305

64

80

365

380

55

57

439

Producers Livestock

Operations

Processors/

Handlers

TotalOrganic

Operations

2014

2015

18

Table14|AlbertaAcreageBreakdown,2014-2015

2014 2015

FieldCrops 117,241 137,941

Cereals 93,761 113,500

Barley 14,916 18,415

Buckwheat 34 63

Kamut 2,443 1,760

MixedGrain 550 735

Oats 40,377 46,014

Rye 1,846 2,032

Wheat 31,598 43,712

OtherCereals 1,997 769

Pulses 15,964 17,599

Beans 1,141 458

Lentils 860 974

Peas 13,958 14,782

OtherPulses 5 1385

Oilseeds 4,646 6,733

Canola 670 220

Flax 2,088 3,429

Hemp 1,673 2,428

Mustard 70 160

Soybeans 33 -

OtherOilseeds 112 496

OtherFieldCrops 2,870 109

Pasture&Forage 244,793 246,922

Pasture&Meadows 177,509 172,964

Forage 67,284 73,957

Fruits&Vegetables 1,632 6,356

Other 78,060 34,438

Non-FieldCrops 16,556 28,011

Grass&NaturalAreas 61,505 6,427

GRANDTOTAL 441,727 425,656

19

OrganicAgricultureinSaskatchewan

Saskatchewanhas thegreatestnumberoforganicoperations in thePrairies,however thenumbers

fell from 923 in 2014 to 883 in 2015. This decline occurred for primary producers as well as

processors,butlivestockoperationsincreasedslightly.

Certified organic acreage in Saskatchewan increased by 25,000 acres in 2015. Pasture and forage

cropsincreasedby15,000acres.Giventhattherearemorelivestockproducers,itmakessensethat

thiscategorygrew.Thelossofsomecertifiedcropproducersiscapturedintheslightdeclineinfield

cropacreage.SimilartoAlberta,Saskatchewan’svegetableacreageisfivetimeslargerthan2014.

Table15|OverviewofCertifiedOrganicOperationsinSaskatchewan,2014-2015

PrimaryProducers LivestockOperationsProcessors/

Handlers

TotalOrganic

Operations

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Saskatchewan 843 824 28 31 89 56 923 883

PrairieTotal 1,288 1,342 128 118 223 160 1,466 1,499

*Notethattotalcertifiedorganicoperationsisnotasumoftheotherprecedingcolumnsassomeoperationsfallintomultiple

operationtypes(e.g.livestockandfieldcropproducers).

Figure13|OrganicOperationsinSaskatchewan,2014-2015


842

28

89

923

824

31

56

883

Producers Livestock

Operations

Processors/

Handlers

TotalOrganic

Operations

2014

2015

20

Table16|SaskatchewanAcreageBreakdown,2014-2015

2014 2015

FieldCrops 499,982 492,043

Cereals 357,225 361,884

Barley 44,485 33,218

Buckwheat 756 567

Kamut 31,288 27,698

MixedGrain 2,397 100

Oats 89,664 102,301

Rye 17,858 17,239

Wheat 163,850 174,633

OtherCereals 6,927 6,128

Pulses 55,186 68,159

Beans 1,280 191

Lentils 26,682 27,437

Peas 25,708 27,796

OtherPulses 1,517 12,735

Oilseeds 81,033 60,522

Canola 813 20

Flax 41,452 48,508

Hemp 3,314 2,285

Mustard 34,211 8,386

Soybeans 735 1,065


OtherFieldCrops 6,538 1,477



Forage 93,635 126,196

Fruits&Vegetables 714 4,454

Other 168,141 182,150



GRANDTOTAL 868,092 893,160

21

OrganicAgricultureinManitoba

Manitoba had a similar number of organic operations in 2014 and 2015. This suggests some

maintenance of the number of operations, however there is likely an ebb and flow of producers

dropping certification and others joining each year. Overall, therewas a slight increase in primary

producersandadecreaseinprocessors.

Certifiedorganicacreageincreasedbynearly10,000withthemostgainsmadeinfieldcropandother

non-fieldcropacreage.Wheatandgreenmanureacreagewassignificantlyexpanded,whilepasture

andalfalfaacreagenotablydecreased.

Table17|OverviewofCertifiedOrganicOperationsinManitoba,2014-2015

PrimaryProducers LivestockOperations Processors/HandlersTotalOrganic

Operations

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Manitoba 134 138 36 32 54 47 178 177

PrairieTotal 1,288 1,342 128 118 223 160 1,466 1,499

*Notethattotalcertifiedorganicoperationsisnotasumoftheotherprecedingcolumnsassomeoperationsfallintomultiple

operationtypes(e.g.livestockandfieldcropproducers).

Figure14|OrganicOperationsinManitoba,2014-2015


134

36

54

178

138

32

47

177

Producers Livestock

Operations

Processors/

Handlers

TotalOrganic

Operations

2014

2015

22

Table18|ManitobaAcreageBreakdown,2014-2015

2014 2015

FieldCrops 29,711 34,570

Cereals 22,766 24,989

Barley 1,964 2,582

Buckwheat 272 319

Kamut - -

MixedGrain 501 1,739

Oats 6,632 5,129

Rye 2,991 3,509

Wheat 9,700 11,029

OtherCereals 706 682

Pulses 2,913 2,780

Beans 471 387

Lentils 80 650

Peas 1,708 1,306

OtherPulses 654 437

Oilseeds 2,879 6,791

Canola - -

Flax 2,221 3,249

Hemp 140 267

Mustard 50 1,473

Soybeans 295 1,339


OtherFieldCrops 1,153 10



Forage 18,612 21,303

Fruits&Vegetables 2,424 833

Other 13,894 17,494



GRANDTOTAL 82,117 91,618

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